


Connecting Paths

by BiJane



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, F/F, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 04:23:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9701135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiJane/pseuds/BiJane
Summary: The moment you meet your soulmate you’ll know because their name will appear somewhere on your body.That’s how it works on Krypton at least. Over on Earth, Lena’s trying to work out what possessed a certain reporter to get a tattoo of her name.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little sleep deprived writing this, but I hope you like it anyway.   
> I'm not sure why I've been writing soulmate AUs lately, but hey. I've seen a few in this fandom where Kara doesn't have a soulmate tattoo because she's an alien; I like the idea of turning it around.   
> As far as the kryptonian language goes, some words have been collected into a dictionary online, but there are a lot of gaps. There's no exact word for 'soulmate' so I made one up from what there is, and a little creative thinking. Idioms are always weird, that's my defense.   
> Enjoy!

Kara felt the prickling on her arm almost immediately. She couldn’t be sure what it meant, it wasn’t something she’d experienced before, but the list of things that could cause a flare of sensation like that, bordering on pain, when she was on Earth was incredibly small.

Lena was walking a few steps ahead. She and Clark were meant to be investigating Lena, under the guise of an interview.

Kara shifted, fidgeting and resting one hand over her other forearm. If it was what she thought it was, it’d probably be best to hide a tattoo that had just appeared from nowhere.

As she sat down she snuck a peek. As she’s suspected, _Lena Luthor_ was written in oddly elegant writing on her arm.

She knew what that meant; she’d been raised on Krypton. It bordered on myth; whether it was a product of ancient genetic tampering, or something bordering on the supernatural, every native to Krypton was marked with their soulmate’s name upon meeting them for the first time.

It was meant to be a blessing. Or, if you were on a world that had never heard of such marks, a complete pain.

She’d helped Clark when she’d first arrived on Earth. The kryptonian database he had access to was far from complete; it had been put together in a rush after all. There were holes in his knowledge, details about Krypton that would never be recovered, but Kara carried some of it in her memory.

He’d been so confused as to what had caused Lois’ name to write itself on his side. He’d been rather relieved when Kara had told him it was normal, for them.

And of course he had it written on his side; a nice, unobtrusive place. She had to get it on her forearm, and naturally she’d chosen to wear short sleeves today.

Trying not to look too uncomfortable, Kara stayed sitting, one hand covering the mark. She tried to look as though she was listening intently to Lena.

Instead her mind was whirling with thoughts of _soulmate_ s.

Kryptonian society wasn’t as romantic as human society. She’d been amazed when she saw how much media on Earth seemed to centre around romance and relationships.

Despite all that, there didn’t seem to be too much acknowledgement of soulmates. They popped up every now and again in fiction, but for the most part they went ignored.

In a way it was amusing that Krypton had more focus on soulmates than Earth; they were just a fact of life there. True, soulmates weren’t inherently romantic, but they often were.

For the most part, someone could tell whether their perfect match would be romantic or not, by the kind of thing they were interested in. Kara had always been fairly sure she’d have a romantic soulmate.

Still, suddenly gaining her mark had caught her by surprise.

Kara tried to touch her fingertips to the mark, keeping it hidden, curiously trying to see if the texture of her skin had changed.

“And you are?” Lena said, suddenly.

Kara jumped up, straightening.

It took her a moment to mentally catch up on what was happening. Clark had asked most of the questions; she’d been distracted by the words appearing on her arm. Clark looked at her strangely.

It wasn’t as though she could talk about that. It didn’t happen for humans, and while she would probably have to come out as kryptonian to her soulmate, there was a time and a place.

“Kara- Kara Danvers,” she said. “Not with the Daily Planet. I’m from, uh, Catco Magazine.”

Lena quirked an eyebrow; Kara hastily adjusted her glasses.

Whatever Lena was about to respond with was quickly cut off as her eyes were drawn downwards. Her eyes widened a little more; Kara followed her gaze, only to hastily shift her hand back to the mark. Maybe she shouldn’t have adjusted her glasses.

Stupid nervous habits.

“Was that a tattoo?” Lena said, disbelieving.

“It- I- um-” Kara flushed.

Clark turned to her, though he at least just looked confused. His mind probably wouldn’t automatically go to soulmate marks; he’d just be baffled as to what could tattoo her skin.

“Can I see it again?” Lena said.

“It’s- uh, it’s not important.”

“Really?” Lena said. “It looked like…”

Kara flushed a little further. Of course Lena had managed to read it, nothing could ever be easy.

Clark frowned.

“Kara?” he said, “I didn’t know you’d gotten a-”

“It’s, uh, recent,” Kara said.

“Where did you get it?” Clark said. “I didn’t notice…”

“It’s- um, from home,” Kara said.

Clark frowned; Kara held his gaze for a few long seconds before he realized which home she was referring to.

He still seemed a bit confused, though that was probably a good thing. Kara didn’t want to have the _my soulmate is Lena Luthor_ conversation just yet.

“Oh,” he said. He turned back, quickly changing the subject from anything Krypton-related. “Moving on, Miss Luthor, the Venture…”

Lena’s eyes stayed fixed, curiously, on Kara throughout the rest of the interview. Even as she handed the flash drive to Clark, she spared a glance for Kara.

Every few seconds Lena’s eyes dipped down. Kara made extra sure to not move her hand from covering her arm.

Eventually the meeting came to an end. Clark walked out first, and Kara was just behind him up until she heard Lena say her name. Almost reluctantly, Kara turned.

“Do I want to ask why you have a tattoo of my name?” Lena said.

Was there _any_ good answer to that?

“I wasn’t sure,” Lena said, when Kara faltered. “But it looked like a ‘Lena’ something, and it could have been Luthor, but how you acted confirmed it.”

“It’s- I- uh- Kind of, um…”

Lena raised her eyebrows. Kara’s stuttering drew to a rather swift close. There were just some things you couldn’t talk your way out of.

“I wasn’t aware I had a… fanbase,” Lena said. She seemed uncomfortable with the word.

“It’s not that- um-” Kara said.

She caught herself after a moment. Why did she have to immediately disagree? That was probably the best potential excuse out there.

Then again, it might lead to questions she couldn’t answer.

“Why _me_?” Lena said. “My brother’s been the only one in the public eye. And-”

“No, no,” Kara shook her head quickly, “It’s not- It’d never be anything to do with him.”

“That’s a… relief,” Lena said. “Do you normally tattoo the names of people you’ve never met on your body?”

“I- uh, yeah,” Kara said, brightly.

Lena blinked.

“You _do_?” Lena said.

Ok, maybe she should’ve stuck to instinctively refuting Lena’s speculation. Kara stumbled for a few moments.

“Well it’s- uh, it’s not like there could be any other reason for it,” Kara said. _Nothing human at least_. “And you were… inspirational. The way you, um…”

Lena was looking at her strangely, now. Kara’s voice trailed off, unsure of how to read that expression.

“Oh,” Lena said. “…Thank you.”

“Thank _you_ ,” Kara said.

“Can I see it?” Lena said.

“I- ok,” Kara said.

Well it wasn’t like there could be any more harm done; it was just her name. Kara lifted her arm, baring the inked words to the air.

She took it in properly for the first time too. There wasn’t much more to it that her earlier glimpse didn’t see; two words in elegant lettering, in Lena’s native language of English.

Kara regarded it. Maybe she’d have to wear longer sleeves more, to avoid needing to give long explanations of something she wasn’t sure she _could_ explain, but even so she did kind of like the look of the mark. It suited her.

“Kara, why are-”

And that just had to be Clark’s cue to walk back into the room. He froze the moment he saw Kara’s arm; she lowered it quickly, hiding the mark again, but it was clearly too late.

He blinked.

“You’re- you have _her_ name?” Clark said.

Kara hesitated. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t been similarly confused.

It would probably be worse for Clark; he’d been raised on Earth, with human norms. Humans seemed just as interested in deconstructing soulmates as they were in believing in the concept. They just couldn’t accept purely good news.

On Krypton, it was taken as given that a soulmate would be a perfect match. There was no room for incompatibility, no room for abuse, and while freedom was often viewed as overrated, unlike on Earth, it still wasn’t really lost.

A soulmate was meant to be someone you’d choose yourself, even without being pointed towards them. The marks just saved time.

Kara liked that idea; she looked forward to finding out the things she’d have seen in Lena.

“I- um, yep,” Kara said, to Clark. “You know I’m a _fan_ , right?”

She emphasized the world. Clark glanced almost imperceptibly towards Lena, recognizing the need for some tact.

“I don’t think I’ve seen it before,” Clark said, slowly. Another glance to Lena; “It caught me by surprise. You- like her, then?”

“I’m standing right here,” Lena said. “If you want to talk about me, you might want to take it outside.”

“We’re not saying anything bad,” Kara said, immediately. “You’re my- um, idol?”

Lena faltered slightly at that. It was mildly gratifying to know Kara wasn’t the only one who could end up lost for words.

Then again, judging by Clark’s reaction to the _Luthor_ marked on Kara’s wrist, it seemed to be going around.

* * *

The discussion with Clark had been a long one, but hadn’t been too tedious. He’d been taken aback, yes, but Kara knew more about what it was the marks meant, and what the soulmates they denoted were.

She trusted it, so she trusted Lena, completely.  

He was less enthused at the prospect of what she’d have to do, sooner rather than later, but he accepted it. If she had a soulmate, she’d have to be honest with them.

Which translated to revealing her secret identity. Maybe she could wait a bit longer, ease Lena into it, but Kara didn’t particularly want to be thought of as someone who’d randomly decided to get a tattoo of Lena’s name.

So, all things considered, it would be better to arrange a meeting between Lena and Supergirl sooner rather than later.

Lena had moved to an office with a balcony. That made things easier. Barely a day later, Kara landed on it, and knocked on the outside of the glass door.

Lena stiffened slightly, turning in her chair. After a perplexed moment she opened the door, inviting Kara in.

“What can I do for you?” Lena said. “I don’t imagine you’re here for any good reason.”

 _Well_.

“It’s… complicated,” Kara said.

“I’ve barely come to the city and a Super’s knocking at my door,” Lena said. “It doesn’t seem complicated.”

“What? No, it’s nothing like…” Kara said.

Lena frowned.

“It’s- about you,” Kara said. “And- on Krypton, things are different. Everyone’s born with a way to identify their, um, _ehroshium_.”

“Their what?” Lena said.

“There isn’t a perfect translation,” Kara said.

“Try,” Lena said, a little impatiently.

Well, Kara couldn’t blame her for that. A stranger with every reason to feel some tension had come to her office.

“It literally means something like ‘person of life,’ but on Krypton life is the events themselves, the journey, not just the timespan. The word- it means someone who has a similar path to you, the person you share the journey with.” Kara paused. “The closest English word is ‘soulmate.’”

 Lena opened her mouth, then closed it again, uncharacteristically surprised.

Kara couldn’t blame her from that. If she’d suspected hostility…

“They exist?” Lena said.

“I think so,” Kara said.

“And you know yours?” Lena said.

“There’s a sign, for kryptonians,” Kara said.

“What sign?”

Kara paused for a moment. Well, it didn’t seem like she’d been left many delicate avenues. Slowly, Kara lifted her arm and rolled up her sleeve.

It was the third time she’d seen Lena lost for words. It didn’t seem like it was something particularly common.

“That’s… more believable than being a diehard fan,” Lena said, slowly.

Kara couldn’t help but chuckle. She fidgeted a little.

Normally she knew people for longer before saying she was Supergirl. There wasn’t much of a way to avoid it here, though, as if she wanted to.

After a few seconds, Kara tugged her sleeve back down. Lena took her hand, preventing her from lowering her arm.

“What _is_ that?” Lena said.

“It’s- complicated,” Kara said. “On Krypton, your _ehrashium_ ’s name appears when you meet them. And, um, I got that about the time I walked into your office.”

“You didn’t know?”

“There’s no way to know,” Kara said.

“And it’s… real?” Lena said.

“What?”

“It can’t be a normal tattoo,” Lena said. “I don’t know what could give you one. And it is a very strange thing to lie about.”

“What?” Kara said. She squeezed Lena’s hand. “Lena. I’m not lying. I- I didn’t really know what to think when I got the mark, but I know they can always be trusted. And you seem- amazing, from what I’ve seen. With helping, and- you helped my sister, and…”

“It’s just strange,” Lena said. She paused. “A Super as my… soulmate.”

She didn’t seem particularly comfortable with the word.

“I never liked the concept,” Lena said. “Enough choices were taken away from me. I thought that, at least, would be up to me. But if you’re saying…”

“Humans overcomplicate it,” Kara said.

Lena raised her eyebrows.

“I mean, there’s got to be someone that’s a best fit for you,” Kara said. “That’s just, well, a fact. If you go out and date everyone you ever meet you’ll get on better with some. The very best one, that’s, well, your _ehroshium_.”

“And I’m… yours?” Lena said.

“You’re mine,” Kara said. She smiled. “And I’m yours.”

Lena paused.

“Why do I get the feeling this would be easier if you were just an obsessed fan?” Lena said.

“I’m a bit of a fan too,” Kara said.


End file.
